Supernova

What you expect from a movie starring Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth is an acting tour de force, and that’s exactly what Supernova delivers. Not in a flashy, scenery-chewing way, but in a tapestry of piercing expressions, small gestures, and subtle familiarities.

The heart of the film is its moving depiction of the special intimacy of a long-term couple, and it begins with life partners Tusker (Tucci) and Sam (Firth) in a motorhome, heading somewhere in rural England for reasons only gradually revealed. Really, that’s all you need to know about the film before you see it, so feel free to stop reading now, don your double masks, and head over to the comfy AMC theater on Friday for a moving and memorable cinematic experience. (The film will be available for streaming on February 12.) I’ll wait for you to come back after.

Or you can keep reading, and I’ll try to limit spoilers as much as possible. The big one, which becomes clear not long into the film, is that Tusker, a novelist, has gradually worsening dementia. The men’s trip is to revisit old haunts and reconnect with family and friends. They’re on their way to a recital scheduled for Sam, a well-known pianist, but it’s clearly a last hurrah for Tusker.

The film is only the second feature written and directed by British actor Harry Macqueen, and it’s so beautifully and gently realized that it makes me want to seek out his previous movie, another two-person drama, called Hinterland. Macqueen is 37, but his evocation of Sam’s and Tusker’s three-decade relationship is so sensitive and familiar, you’d think him much older.

The dialogue is naturalistic, keeping speeches to a minimum and always in a context where they make sense. (One such moment, as Tusker stares at the night sky with a young niece, gives the film its title.) Every performer seems relaxed and comfortable, and any showiness is expressed more in the use of pained restraint than in shouts and shocks. I’m sorry not to name more of the supporting cast — many have fine moments — but the film belongs to its leads.

Tucci has always been one of my favorite actors, settling easily into comedy (The Devil Wears Prada), supporting roles (Julie and Julia), and big-budget goofiness (the Hunger Games films). Rarely is he accorded a lead role, but Supernova is his film from start to finish, and he gives a rare and powerful performance. He’s essentially centerstage with Firth as his able accompanist, providing solid harmonies and occasional flourishes but never showboating. (If you’re wondering why this review is not addressing the film’s treatment of LGBTQ+ issues, it’s because the men’s relationship is never treated as anything other than a perfect and natural partnership, without a single reference to its being a same-sex union.)

Macqueen’s script is lean and neatly structured, right up to the final scenes. If I have any complaint with Supernova, it would be only that Tusker’s increasing disability is dramatized a bit too delicately; Tucci could have handled a few more overt expressions of Tusker’s skittering mind to better direct the journey to where it’s going. But that’s a minor quibble for such an accomplished drama — one that deserves much more attention than its scale and intimacy will likely drum up. Don’t miss it.

Grade: A-minus. Rated R for language. In theaters January 29; streaming via Amazon and other services starting February 12.

(Photo: Bleecker Street Media)